Financial advisor prospecting has evolved. Technology is vastly improved. Social media has widened the prospect pool. Cold calling is obsolete. Your client acquisition strategies need an upgrade if you’re going to compete. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of effective financial advisor prospecting ideas that every advisor could benefit from.
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#1 – Find Your Unique Identifier & Brand It
There was once a time when simply being the “local” financial advisor would bring business through the door. The internet has changed that. Geographical location is less relevant when clients do business online. Advisory firms are now better distinguished by specialty, not geography.
Find that one characteristic that makes your firm unique. Brand your unique identifier by creating a company logo and slogan, then display that branding on your website, social media pages, and content marketing campaigns. Your brand is your online identity.
#2 – Identify Niche Markets
This second prospecting idea is symbiotic with the first. Pinpointing your unique identifier and brand will help you determine the best niche markets to target. The most common target markets are industry-related, specific professions, or affiliated with a community or institution.
Pursuing doctors, lawyers, teachers, or airline pilots are examples of working in a niche. Advisors who specialize in wealth management or financial planning for these professionals typically have a natural network already built within that space. Those contacts are pre-qualified prospects.
#3 – Develop a Content Marketing Plan
Posting your logo on social media is simply not enough to draw in new leads. For best results, develop a multi-media plan with weekly blog posts, image marketing, and video clips explaining your services.
The primary purpose of content marketing is to communicate ideas to your niche market audience. It does not need to be promotional. Your logo tells them who you are. Focus on providing educational content that offers the reader valuable information.
#4 – Be Selective about Social Media Channels
Facebook has 2.7 billion users. Don’t try to reach them all. Your qualified prospect pool is significantly smaller. Facebook and LinkedIn have targeting features that allow you to narrow the audience for any event promotions or article marketing.
Newer advisors instinctually want to cast a wide net on social media and capture whatever traffic they can get. This is a mistake. The “unqualified” visitors you get from a campaign like that will consume time and resources that could be utilized elsewhere.
#5 – Update Your Website for Lead Capture
Online marketing campaigns are less effective if your website is not designed to capture leads. This can be done through properly placed contact forms, buttons, and pop-up boxes. Adding a live chat feature can be also be useful, but only if you’re available to answer inquiries.
Another lead capture technique that is underused by advisory firms is retargeting. This feature is available for Google and LinkedIn, among others. Retargeting allows you to follow your website’s visitors around with ads for your business wherever they go online. Once a user has landed on your site, they will then begin to see ads for your business. The ads can be set to display in search results, apps, and website banner ads.
#6 – Integrate Email Marketing Software
Capture functions on a website help you build a contact list. The most important line item on each of those listings is the email address. Put it to good use. When a prospect provides you with an email address, they are “opting in” for you to communicate with them again.
Find some email marketing software you’re comfortable with and integrate it with your website. There are many good options out there, including Constant Contact, Mailchimp, and HubSpot. Check to see which ones your website easily integrates with.
#7 – Embrace Automation Whenever Possible
Email marketing software doesn’t just give you the ability to send single emails. You can create email strings and program the software to send them out automatically. That’s great, because it lets you set it and forget it, giving you more of your time back.
Automation is the key to scaling an advisory practice in today’s world. With the technology available now, prospecting and marketing campaigns can be set to run continuously. Establish a brand, identify a niche market, set up ads, and let your website and email marketing platform do the rest.
#8 – Teach an Online Class
Teaching a class in person will put you in a room with a few dozen people. Online classes, promoted properly, could give you an audience of several hundred. Your qualified prospect list will grow significantly faster if you choose not to leave the office. And, of course, virtual sessions are more important now than ever in the wake of COVID-19.
While the close rate may be higher at an in-person venue than online, the overall volume of potential prospects online can be much higher.
Work with a Financial Advisor Coach
Have you been struggling with prospecting or growing your business? This is an area where a financial advisor coach can really help you. Contact Bill Edmonds at Northstar Leadership today to learn more about prospecting, referrals, marketing campaigns, and how to more efficiently run your advisory practice.
